Freshly brewed espresso is poured over creamy vanilla ice cream to create Affogato, an Italian dessert that is a marriage made in flavor heaven.

Affogato

As a bona fide, lifelong lover of homemade ice cream, Affogato is an absolute dream come true. It’s the perfect blend of hot and cold, as the warm espresso meets cool ice cream.

Because the ingredients are not mixed or blended, you end up with a wonderful range of colors, textures, flavors, and temperatures in this recipe. Eating it is such a treat, because each bite is a slightly different experience.

What is an Affogato?

If you’re wondering “What is an affogato?”, it’s really quite simple. Affogato is simply a shot of espresso poured of a scoop of gelato or ice cream. That’s it. No stirring required, just start eating.

The hot and bitter espresso is cooled and sweetened by the ice cream, while the freezing cold ice cream is softened and warmed by the espresso. Together, they become something more, something magical.

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‘Tis the season for all of the comfort food! If you want to enjoy your favorite fall flavors without dairy or eggs, I’ve got you covered. I’ve gathered up 10 delicious vegan recipes for fall.

Hi friends! Anyone else feeling SO EXCITED for fall? Last year, I felt like I was going through the motions, but this year, I actually feel myself really looking forward to the upcoming season. I can’t wait for some fun celebrations with the fam and fall and winter activities.

I also feel like my cooking mojo has come back, so it’s been fun to finally enjoy cooking again and trying new recipes. For today’s post, I wanted to share some vegan recipes we love or new ones that are on our radar. Please shout out any fave fall vegan recipes in the comments below!

10 Vegan Recipes For Fall

1. Pumpkin Pie Protein Bowl

A delicious and healthy high-protein breakfast option that tastes like pumpkin pie! It’s gluten-free, vegan, and an awesome breakfast for busy mornings.

2. Apple Pie Walnut Baked Oatmeal

This apple pie baked oatmeal is gluten-free, vegan, and an incredibly delicious make-ahead breakfast option. This is perfect to make as part of meal prep for busy weekday mornings. Simply reheat and eat.

3. Vegan Eggnog

Anyway, let’s talk about this recipe! It’s a holly jolly holiday beverage, minus some of the ingredients that can make us want to crawl into hibernation. (Don’t worry, there’s still some booze in there if you want it!) For a creamy egg-less eggnog, I used my favorite strategy for awesome texture minus the dairy: soaked cashews, plus a little turmeric for that light golden egg-ish color.

4. Pumpkin Pie Mousse

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Hi friends! How are you? I hope you’re enjoying the morning! New podcast episode is up with a little Q&A. Thank you so much to those of you who submitted questions via Instagram. If you have any topic or guest requests, please send them my way!

141: Ditching the “all or nothing” mindset, Q&A episode

Here are today’s questions:

– How do I improve my all or nothing mindset? I feel like when I’m on the plan, I can stick with it, but once I do something that’s not on the plan, the whole day is ruined.

– How to adjust mindset/nutrition/movement when recovering from surgery?

– Lab ranges that are different in functional medicine

– Kettlebells! How to choose the correct weight? Where to start? Work with a certified kettlebell coach

– Nutrition certification and deep dive of coaching options

1:1 Coaching – email me with the subject COACHING gina@fitnessista.com for an application

Fit Team– phased strength training plans you can do at home, designed to improve strength, performance, and body composition

Vitality– health foundations, functional lab testing, and personalized action plan to get you feeling your absolute best

More resources from this episode:

I love love love the meals from Sakara Life! Use this link and the code XOGINAH for 20% off their meal delivery and clean boutique items. This is something I do once a month as a lil treat to myself and the meals are always showstoppers. You can join their fall reset now!

If any of my fellow health professional friends are looking for another way to help their clients, I highly recommend IHP. You can also use this information to heal yourself and then go one to heal others, which I think is a beautiful mission. You can absolutely join if you don’t currently work in the health or fitness industry; many IHPs don’t begin on this path. They’re friends who are passionate to learn more about health and wellness, and want to share this information with those they love. You can do this as a passion, or start an entirely new career.

You can use my referral link here and the code FITNESSISTA for up to $250 off the Integrative Health Practitioner program. I highly recommend it! Read more

Sharing the books I read in August and if I’d recommend adding them to your collection!

Hi friends! I hope that you’re enjoying the day so far. The Pilot was off work, so he took the kids to school while I caught a barre class, we enjoyed a coffee date, and lunch together. It was a lovely treat in the middle of the week!

For today’s post, I wanted to share a recap of some of the books I’ve read recently. This post is a little belated because I kept thinking I’d finish Daughters of Rome but I couldn’t do it (more below). I’d love to hear about what you’ve been reading lately if you’ll share the goods in the comments section!

Untangled

A friend recommended this book to me, as we both have tween daughters and are heading into new territories when it comes to friendships, independence, all those teen-y things. This book was AMAZING. It’s all about helping your child navigate the seven stages of adulthood, including friendships, mood/attitudes, bullying, relationships (with others and with parents), and I found it be incredibly insightful and full of helpful tips. I highly recommend it if you have a tween or teen.

One of my favorite metaphors that the author gave was that our kids are swimming in a pool, and we’re the wall. They need to venture out and be able to swim and find independence, but sometimes, they may need to come back to the wall. Sometimes, they push off the wall, which can be painful, but we need to stay there for them. A kid with a wall is going to have an easier time navigating tough situations than if the wall wasn’t there. <3

Roasted sweet potatoes, crisp warm baby spinach, and spicy breakfast sausage are all topped with an egg in this Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs.

Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs

I prepared this recipe so many times over the course of my boys’ childhood. They always cleaned their plates when this was on the menu.

This breakfast hash first made its way to my table over 10 years ago. I can still remember the pride that my boys demonstrated when they figured out how to stack a little taste of everything onto their forks with each big bite.

They proudly informed us that doing so made the spinach taste so much better. I can empathize, as I well recall how much I disliked spinach as a child. I’m grateful my kids enjoy it most of the time now.

A spinach breakfast is a great way to get started on those leafy greens early. And, if you haven’t already been converted to the awesomeness that is eggs and spinach, I recommend trying my boys’ beloved Power Eggs too.

Sweet Potato and Spinach

With an egg on top, hash is one of my favorite meals for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I often make a double recipe just to have leftovers in the refrigerator.

I don’t think I’ve tried a single version of hash that I didn’t like. Sweet potato and spinach hash, crispy hash with bacon, potatoes, and vegetables, Read more